Italian Grand Prix – Race Round-Up
Sunday 10 September 2006
MONZA WAY BACK UP
Panasonic Toyota Racing will leave Monza with two points
courtesy of Jarno Trulli's strong drive at today's Italian
Grand Prix. On a sunny day at the circuit situated near the
city of Milan, temperatures again approached 30 degrees Celsius.
Jarno and team-mate Ralf Schumacher faced a hard day's work
from their respective grid positions of 11th and 13th. Toyota
opted for a one-stop strategy for both cars in a bid to make
up positions. Jarno maintained a strong pace throughout the
race and ended up taking 7th place. Ralf was less fortunate,
spending much of the day in traffic and settling for 15th.
Toyota now heads to the British circuit of Silverstone for
testing this week in preparation for the last three races
of the season in China, Japan and Brazil.
Jarno Trulli (Car 8, Chassis TF106/08B)
Race Classification: 7th
Gap: +44.662s (from race winner)
Qualifying Classification: 11th
Time: 1m21.924s (+0.699s in Q2)
Grid: 11th
"That really was the maximum we could have achieved
today so I will go away happy tonight. I made a reasonable
start and just made sure to avoid any kind of accident on
the first lap, and from then on I had a pretty good race.
It all went pretty smoothly, especially considering that I
had Barrichello in front of me on the first stint slowing
me down. Otherwise I could have gone slightly better but nevertheless
the car's balance felt good throughout the race. It was also
a trouble-free race for me so thanks to the team and everybody
involved for the good job they have done this week and at
last week's test. Now I look forward to the last three races
which I believe will suit our car better."
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7, Chassis TF106/10B)
Race Classification: 15th
Gap: +1 lap (from race winner)
Qualifying Classification: 13th
Time: 1m22.280s (+1.055s in Q2)
Grid: 13th
"We were always going to face a difficult afternoon
today starting from so far down the grid and that was the
way it proved. I have struggled for balance throughout the
weekend and that continued throughout the race. I found myself
in traffic and we just didn't have enough speed to overtake
down the straights. So all in all it's been a difficult event
for me. Luckily Jarno scored a couple of points so well done
to him. We have had a fast car in the last few races and we
expect to improve our performance at the coming races. Of
course I would also like to mention Michael's decision to
retire. I am sure he has thought long and hard about his decision
and I respect it. I've enjoyed racing with him and I wish
him all the best both for the championship and for the future."
Tsutomu Tomita – Team Principal
"We came here expecting unsettled weather but in the
end all three days have been fine. We also expected more from
this weekend but we struggled with the performance of the
car on Friday and Saturday. It was a pity that we missed out
on Q3 and it meant today was always going to be hard work.
But today was much better and our pace was closer to what
we expected from the whole weekend. Given our grid positions
the only sensible choice was to go for one pit stop and everything
worked well. Jarno had been happy with his balance on the
first two days but he was short of top speed. But today he
had a very strong race considering his grid position, so well
done to him for going up to 7th from 11th. He made no mistakes
and pushed hard all through the race on his way to the points.
Ralf spent most of the race in traffic so it is difficult
to judge what he could have achieved but he still brought
the car home. Our tyres were consistent and reasonably fast
so we have achieved the best we could have managed today.
The car configuration we will use at the last three races
of the year will be different and we are confident that we
will be able to improve our level of performance. We will
head to Shanghai with a target of challenging the top cars
again."
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